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I don't think you can make a case against students learning to use computers now, as opposed to waiting until they are over 40 and trying to find the Any Key.

Sure, students should learn how to use computers. That doesn't mean they should be in every classroom, or should be used in a pathetic attempt to replace teachers. Learning how to use a word processor and a web browser is maybe two weeks of instruction in middle school, not a major educational investment.

Computers will no more be the magic bullet that makes education fun and easy than radio, tape recordings, filmstrips, movies, TV, videotapes, or all the other educational media that have come and gone. Clifford Stoll is right on target about computers in the classroom.

It's a neurotoxin, just like Asparthame (Nutra-Sweet), only more people are affected by MSG than Asparthame.

I call Shenannigans! Shenannigans!

The whole bit about Aspartame being a neurotoxin is an internet urban legend. It has absolutely no basis in science. In particular, the claim about methanol poisoning from digesting the stuff is just wrongheaded since you get far more from drinking an equivalent amount of fruit juice or beer.

Furthermore, the G in MSG is glutamate, an amino acid and is pretty safe. This is the component that people claim is a neurotoxin. It is true that glutamate can do nerve damage in high doses, but consuming MSG in food will not bring blood glutamate levels that high. You get a good amount of the amino acid from just breaking down proteins from plant and animal sources in the body. By the way, the reason that MSG works as a "flavor enhancer" is because the tongue actually has a fifth chemical receptor beyond those of salty, sweet, sour, and bitter -- one that bonds to glutamate.

They are trying to steal away educational tools from their children!

Outside of programming, engineering, and clerical skills classes, computers are not educational tools - educational tools must actually be useful for education.

Computers in the classroom are a wonderful distraction, and they give politicians something to point at and say "See my commitment to education!" But they do fsck-all to enhance learning.

Clifford Stoll's book High Tech Heretic" is a good look at the subject.

http://www.familyhaven.com/parenting/hightechheret ic.html

If you haven't read his book "High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian" you really should. It's got some great reading and some things we should think about as we design software.

What can we do as software developers to actually make computers useful in the classroom instead of so distracting? Any thoughts from educators out there?

A good education helps teach you to think. Computers don't belong in schools for the same reason that calculators don't belong in basic math classes. It's one thing if you don't actually do all the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division yourself. It is quite another if you can't. The same applies to logical reasoning, grammar, and anything else that computers make easier.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Clifford Scholl, the high tech heretic. His thesis is that computers don't belong in the classroom. Students learn better when not distracted by computers.

I think Stoll has a point. Learning is not a click-and-drool experience, it's hard work. There are still many things that are better learned with pencil, paper, and attention focussed on the teacher than with mousepad and screen.

One of the problems with computer-based education is that everyone accepts that it's a good idea to bring computers into the classroom, but there is no review or analysis to actually gauge the effectiveness of such instruction methods.